Research on teaching and learning quantum physics (QP) frequently explores students' conceptual difficulties to identify common patterns in their reasoning. The abstractness of QP is often found to be at the origin of students' conceptual difficulties. Due to this abstract nature students resort to common sense reasoning or classical thinking when they make meaning of QP phenomena. In this literature review, the 'abstractness' is closely investigated and nuanced to uncover what reasons for the abstractness students experience. Four reasons for students' conceptual difficulties can be categorised under the abstract nature of QP. These reasons are that students struggle a) to relate the mathematical formalism of QP to experiences in the physical world; b) to interpret counterintuitive QP phenomena and concepts; c) to transit from a deterministic to a probabilistic worldview; and d) to understand the limitations of language to express quantum phenomena, concepts, and objects. Combining these four reasons allows us to better understand the origin of conceptual difficulties in QP and why these difficulties persist over time. The implications of these findings for research and teaching practice are discussed.
Background: Quantum physics has found its way into upper secondary school physics curricula worldwide. This trend coincides with increased attention for conceptual understanding in physics education in general and quantum physics education in particular. Students' conceptual difficulties of learning quantum physics are regularly reported. Little systematic attention has been paid to the opportunities and challenges teachers and students experience for teaching and learning quantum physics. Purpose: The opportunities and challenges secondary school teachers and their students experience were examined to gain insights into their perspectives teaching and learning quantum physics. These insights inform improvements in teaching and learning quantum physics at the secondary school level. Sample: Three teachers and five of each teacher's students participated in this study. Design & Methods: A context analysis was conducted to explore the experiences of the teachers and students. Teachers were individually interviewed; students were interviewed in a focus group session. The semi-structured interviews were analysed resulting in three case reports. These case reports were used to conduct a crosscase analysis to find common opportunities and challenges among teachers' and students' experiences. Results: Teachers and students felt that teachers had an important role in supporting students' understanding of quantum physics. Teachers were challenged to enthuse their students for quantum physics as they struggled to convey the relevance of the subject to their students. Freely available digital materials were considered as an opportunity to support students' conceptual understanding as they have the potential to engage students and benefit their conceptual development. Conclusion:Several implications are discussed to improve teaching and learning of quantum physics, such as opportunities for teacher professional development as well as ways to effectively use freely available digital materials.
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